In this week’s Week in Review: Spotify looks to video,Videology launches Platform and Sky invests in DataXU To receive a weekly summary of industry news and other VAN interviews and videos, sign up to the weekly Video Round-Up.

Spotify to Introduce Premium Video Content
Spotify will soon be rolling out its video content product to the public, according to reports. While Spotify have been serving video ads to non-subscribers for some time, the music service is looking to add premium video content to its Android app, with plans for the iOS app to follow. Spotify’s projected lineup includes a mix of traditional and digital content providers that included ESPN, Comedy Central, the BBC, Vice Media and Maker Studios.

Sky Invests in DataXu
Sky PLC has announced that it has invested $10m in analytics company DataXu, who also specialise in programmatic marketing. The investment will help Sky to increase the reach of Sky AdVance, use DataXu’s experience to help advertisers to buy addressable TV ads programmatically and to use their experience to provide a marketing and advertising boost.

Apple Reports Best Ever Quarter for Apple TV
Apple Watch and the Apple TV have helped Apple to post sales in Apple’s ‘other products’ category that show growth of 62 per cent year-on-year. The company reported profits of $18.4 billion in its fiscal first quarter. Apple has also shown a tumble in shares for the iPhone.

Videology Offers Ability to Transact on Viewable Impressions
Videology, will allow users to transact on viewability as a currency, defined as viewable CPM (vCPM). Within its platform, clients will be able to plan, buy and execute against a guaranteed price for a guaranteed number of viewable impressions as measured by 3rd party vendors Moat, DoubleVerify or Integral Ad Science.

Wochit Reports 2015 Momentum
Video creation platform, Wochit, has reported revenue growth of 300 per cent in 2015, while doubling the number of customers. It has also announced the release of a suite of new platform features to give users the ability to create customised videos on trending stories and to publish those videos on a wide array of mobile and social channels, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Vimeo.

Sky Announces that James Murdoch is to Become Chairman and Launches a New Now TV Box

Nicholas Ferguson CBE has decided to step down as chairman and as a Director of Sky after 12 years on the Board. He will be replaced by James Murdoch, who has been a director of the company since February 2003 and previously served as Chief Executive from November 2003 to 2007 and as Chairman from 2007 to 2012.

Sky’s online TV streaming service NOW TV is to launch a more advanced TV box later this year. The brand new NOW TV Smart Box will bring together Now TV’s pay TV content and over 60 live free-to-air channels, and will feature an updated user interface. Sky have been partnering with streaming service Roku – a company Sky has invested in – on the design.

Facebook’s Quarterly Earnings Surpass $5 Billion, Continues to Invest in VR and Video
Facebook has announced quarterly revenue of over $5bn for the first time, the social media company has announced. The Q4 reports have shown a better-than-expected 51.7 per cent jump in revenues as new advertising formats and an improved mobile app drove a sharp rise in ad sales. Facebook’s net income also more than doubled to $1.56bn in the last three months of 2015, even as the company invests heavily in virtual reality and internet access in remote parts of the world. Mark Zuckerberg also told investors on the company’s Q4 earnings call that Facebook will explore the launch of a video-specific property, possibly an app that would compete with Google for video audiences and content creators.

VR and AR Investment Hits $686 MillionVirtual and Augmented Reality deals accounted for $686m in 2015, the Augmented/Virtual Reality Report 2016 from Digi-Capital has found. With new data, thanks to six straight quarters for VR and AR, the report has shown VR and AR investment growth with $250m invested in Q4 2015 alone.

AOL Announces New MDStuart Flint will replace Hamish Nicklin as UK Managing Director at AOL, following Nicklin’s surprise departure to work for the Guardian. Stuart Flint joined AOL amidst its merger with Microsoft Advertising as it integrated its sales teams following the agreement of its partnership in the UK.

IBM Acquires Ustream To Further Cloud-Based Video
IBM has announced it has acquired cloud-based video streaming provider, Ustream. Ustream, who provides cloud-based video streaming to enterprises and broadcasters for everything from corporate keynotes to live music concerts, is hoping to help IBM’s enterprise clients to make the most of video. It has joined the newly-formed IBM Cloud Video Services unit that combines assets from IBM’s R&D labs and strategic acquisitions.

Twitter Offers 30-Second Skippable AdsTwitter has confirmed that it will be introducing longer pre-roll video ads that can run up to 30 seconds and longer. The 30 second limit is a big leap from the six-second standard that they had previously adopted.

GoPro Livestreams on Periscope
Periscope users can now broadcast directly from their GoPro cameras, the camera company have announced. Live broadcasts from GoPro can now also be shared directly to Twitter’s home timeline, enabling GoPro users and Periscope broadcasters to expand their reach to their Twitter fan base.

Samsung To Open VR Studio in New YorkSamsung Mobile has announced at Sundance that it is opening a Virtual Reality studio in New York City. Samsung USA marketing chief Marc Mathieu stated that the company plans on opening a VR production studio based in one if its New York City offices.

Young People Spend More Time Online Than Watching TVFor the first time, young people are spending more time online than watching TV, the annual survey from Childwise has found. The study has also found that tablet ownership will continue to increase, with the potential to reach similar levels to mobile ownership in the next few years, and ownership of laptops and PCs will fall.

Beachfront Media Experiences 700 Per Cent Mobile Revenue GrowthMobile video platform, Beachfront Media, has seen a 700 per cent growth in its mobile revenue in 2015, with the company having 38 billion mobile video ad requests in December worldwide, according to CEO Frank Sinton.

Ericsson Launches Integrated Video InsightsTelecommunications company, Ericsson, has launched a business intelligent toolkit for TV and media players that will allow for Integrated Video Insights. The video insights will build on Ericsson’s TV and media, big data and analytics, and consulting and systems integration portfolios.

Canvs Raises $5.6 Million To Interpret Video Social SentimentsVideo data company Canvs has raised $5.6m from a drive led by KEC Ventures, with input from Rubicon Venture Capital, Gary Vaynerchuck and BRaVe Ventures, Social Starts and Milestone Venture Partners. Canvs interprets video viewers’ social sentiments about their favourite TV programs and ads across 250 different TV networks.

Verizon Adds 20,000 Video ConnectionsVerizon added 20,000 Fios video connections in Q4 in 2015, according to its Q4 results. The results showed that new revenue streams from IoT are growing, with revenues of approximately $200 million in fourth-quarter 2015 and about $690 million for the full year.

TV Remains Primary Way to Consume VideoIn 24 of the top 25 designated market areas in the U.S, adults aged 25-54 watch more than three hours of TV a day, according to Nielsen’s Local Watch Report 2016. The report also found that SVoD reaches nearly half of the U.S. population.

ConvertMedia Launches Outstream Video PortfolioOutstream video SSP ConvertMedia, has announced its video ad portfolio, which will give publishers customisable options for maximising the monetisation of each user session.

Ad Market Ends 2015 Strongly U.S consumers’s opinion of the economy helped advertising spending have strong gains in December 2015, the latest Standard Media Index (SMI) data has shown. The total market rose by 9% for the month, helping cement positive growth for the overall quarter, and in the digital sector the market jumped by 34 per cent in December, compared to the same time last year.

UK Creative Industries Worth £84 Billion a YearThe recovery of the UK economy is being led by the creative industries, namely music, film, video games, TV and publishing sectors, according to the UK Government. The announcement shows that the UK’s creative industries grew by 8.9 per cent in 2014, which is almost double the UK economy as a whole.

LTE Subscriptions Pass 1 Billion4G long-term evolution (LTE) subscriptions have passed the 1bn mark, with projections for stronger growth over the next five years, according to data from Ovum. At the moment five countries account for nearly three-quarters of all subscriptions, with China leading the growth.

OzTam Announces Initial Phase of Video Player Measurement MetricsAustralian audience measurement research firm, OzTam, have announced the initial phase of their video player measurement metric report. The Video Player Measurement (VPM) Report will launch the week commencing February 7th.

Smart TVs Top of Preferred Streaming Platforms 32 per cent of OTT TV users prefer the native connectivity of smart TV, a report from The Diffusion Group has found. The 32 per cent figure is almost equal to the penetration of smart TVs in general.

79 Per Cent Would Consider Uninstalling AdBlockers With More ChoiceAlmost three quarters of Brits say that intrusive ads were the largest motivator for installing ad blockers, followed by ads that affect site performance, Teads Global Ad Study has found. When it comes to video, over half asked said that pre-roll was the most intrusive format.

Jason Kelly Becomes LiveIntent’s PresidentLiveIntent, which automates the placement of ad inventory within email messages, has appointed Jason Kelly as its president. Kelly was instrumental in helping mobile ad network Millennial Media sell to AOL for $240 million in September, facilitated the sale of retail DSP Sociomantic to Tesco/dunnhumby in 2014 and served as CRO of Admeld when Google acquired it in 2011.

This Week on VAN:
Those Outside of the Walled Gardens Can Win on Transparency and Cost, read more on VAN

Sky Invests $10m in DataXu to Deepen Partnership on Programmatic TV, Data and Analytics, read more on VAN